Ex's at Christmas
by the.ghost.writer.girl
Summary: Derek and Casey return home from college to visit their parents/younger siblings for Christmas vacation. But there's a secret about the two of them that none of the other family members know...why do Casey and Derek hate each other even more than ever? Rated T for language, some sensuality, and angst.
1. Chapter 1

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The rhythmic tapping kept me focused on what I was reading.

The end of my pencil repeatedly hit the table.

It had always worked before. But not today. Today I was distracted.

I checked my watch.

She'd be checking her luggage right about now.

I resumed tapping even though my eyes were no longer on my chemistry notes.

My father had left not too long ago to pick her up from the airport.

Dropping the pencil onto the table, I stood and began pacing.

What would she say when she saw me?

I jerked my fingers through my hair and caught sight of myself in the stainless steel refrigerator.

My eyes were bloodshot and now my hair was standing on end. My eyes were wide and wild. The bags under my eyes were worse than usual, due to the fact that I'd had no sleep last night.

Once I'd heard of Casey's arrival, my stomach nor my body would rest.

I felt jittery and nauseated, just thinking about her. I sat back down at the kitchen table and put my head in my hands.

Would she still hate me? Even after almost a year?

I tried to apologize but she didn't let me.

All through her freshman year of college, I called and called.

Every time her number changed, I called Emily and begged her to reveal it.

Sometimes she complied, but often, I ended up calling the college and leaving messages. Some were jumbled and nervous. Some were mainly silence, broken every now and then by a few words. Some were drunk and angry.

Some were sad and pleading. But every single one held the same meaning behind my words...I miss you...

Now here I was. Almost a year from my mistake.

And I still didn't know what to do. I contemplated hurriedly writing a note of apology-but dismissed it as the cowards way out.

I thought about hiding out in my room all winter, but dismissed that as impractical. Why should I have to hide? It was my house too...

Just as I reconsidered the note of apology, the door opened.

I jumped up from our kitchen table and stood. Frozen.

Casey shivered and shook snow from her hair. "It's gotten cold out pretty fast."

On a last minute decision, I spun around and ducked into the kitchen to hide.

I heard my father mumble a reply.

"Kids! Your sister's here!" He called.

I groaned. The thoughts I was having of her certainly weren't very sisterly.

I stepped back into the dining room, half hidden by a plant.

Our dog, Lucky, was going berserk at the sight of company.

I leaned my head against one wall and watched my gorgeous step-sister.

"Casey!" Marti squealed and flew down the stairs and into her arms.

Casey grinned and hugged her tightly. "You've gotten so big! I've missed you..."

"You missed my birthday." Marti's eyebrows drew down.

Casey laughed out loud.

I found myself grinning at the sound of her laugh.

"Casey." Lizzie bounded down the stairs, she hugged Casey as well, then stepped aside so Nora could hug her.

When they pulled away, Casey looked around. "I love what you guys have done with the place!"

She turned in a semi-circle.

On her turn back around, she caught sight of me watching her.

Suddenly, it was as if all the oxygen was sucked from the room.

I felt like I was drowning in the Arctic, and baking in the Sahara all at once.

"Casey." I whispered, knowing she couldn't hear me.

"Derek?" She asked, her eyebrows raised.

My body ached when she called my name. I swear if my knees could buckle, they just did.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" She demanded.

I shrugged. My mouth was dry. It was sweltering inside.

"Christmas." I managed.

Her eyes narrowed as she took a few steps toward me.

"What are you really doing here?"

I shrugged again.

"You're supposed to be in California." She said.

"And you're supposed to be in Ontario." I shrugged. "Gotta take a break for Christmas."

She deposited her carry-on onto the couch and continued walking toward me.

"Really? Cause it looks like all your stuff is here."

I mentally kicked myself as I looked around.

She had me. It did look like I lived here.

"Why aren't you in California, Derek? Tell me the truth."

I shrugged and jammed my hands into my pockets. "I dropped out."

"You what?" She demanded, loudly. "I worked my butt off to help you get into that college! Why would you do that?"

"Because it's my life. Not yours, Casey." I responded.

She clucked her tongue and lowered her voice. "You know you wanted in to that college."

I swallowed and looked over her shoulder at my father.

He was too busy watching the scene unfold to pay attention to me.

I turned my attention back to Casey.

"Didn't you?" She demanded.

My mind began working on overdrive to remember her question.

'It's so hard to concentrate on her words when she's looking so sexy right now.' I thought.

I quickly steered away from that thought as I remembered our parents were only a few feet away.

I closed my eyes. "Yes. I did."

"Then why drop out?"

I took a step toward her, eyes open again.

She took a step backward. "Huh? Why would you?"

I let out a low groan. "Casey..."

"Don't." She whispered.

I felt my stomach drop as she uttered that single word.

She turned and gathered up her luggage. Giving the reassuring smile to our parents, she went upstairs and slammed the door.

My father walked into the kitchen and took his scarf off, hanging it on a hook on the wall. "What was all that about?"

I swallowed. "It's nothing."

"Derek?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

I sighed and turned my back to him.

"Look dad, it's nothing. She's just...she's just probably upset that I squandered my talent by dropping out, okay?" I turned to leave when he grabbed my upper arm.

"Wait." He commanded.

I sighed and looked at my step-mother. "Nora, will you tell him to drop it?"

Nora's eyebrows raised. "Derek, will you try to keep in mind that Casey's my daughter? And that I'd like to know what's going on as well?"

I groaned. "Fine. You guys talk, I'm out of here."

"Wait one minute, Derek. We didn't say that we were done with you." My father interjected.

I sighed and sat back down at the table. "Fine. Talk away then."

My dad sat down at the head of the table, beside me.

Nora sat down across from me.

"What's going on with you guys? You guys were really close before you both left for college. And now, it seems like you guys are strangers. Like you hate each other again." Nora seemed puzzled by this behavior.

I resisted the urge to say, 'We're just two teenagers that seem to find each other extremely attractive. So when we're around each other, there's this intense, hot attraction and sexual tension in the air.'

Instead, I opted for. "I guess we grew apart."

When my dad gave me the look, I followed it up with this:

"Look guys. We just tutored each other, okay? I was having a difficult time in biology, she was tanking in history. We formed a mutual understanding during that time and put our differences away long enough to study together. A truce even. But once the tutoring ended, so did the truce."

"So you guys are back to fighting like two immature children?" My father demanded.

"Umm..." I struggled for the right word. "Yeah? I guess..."

"That's comforting." He replied sarcastically.

I shrugged and stood. Grabbing my notebooks and text-books, I dumped them into my backpack. "I've got a monster paper that's due at the beginning of the year. I've got to get it done."

My dad opened his mouth, but Nora cut him off. "Ok. We'll get you guys when it's time for dinner."

I trudged up the stairs.

Passing by Casey's room, I saw that the door was wide open.

She was unpacking her suitcases.

She looked up into the mirror and saw me staring at her.

Dropping whatever it is she had in her hands, she crossed her arms and glared at the mirror.

"What do you want Derek?"

I leaned my body against the doorframe. "Nothing. Can't a guy watch his ex unpack?"

She whirled around, tears in her eyes. "Damn you Venturi. Don't you *ever* call me that."

I stood up off the door frame. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I just-"

"Right. Of course you didn't mean to offend me. Just like you didn't mean to hurt me that night in your room."

Her words stung. "Casey, you know that I wasn't trying to hurt you then. You had me so-"

Casey grabbed a pillow off the end of her bed and threw it toward me.

I side-stepped it and stepped closer into her room.

"Casey, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I just-"

"Just get out!" She threw something else at me that collided with my chest. "Get out, Derek!"

When I didn't move, she dropped whatever she had readied to throw at me.

Instead, she walked toward me and slammed her hands into my chest.

"Just get out!" She hissed, pounding her fists into my chest.

"Please. Let me explain." I began.

When I was finally far enough from her doorframe, she slammed her door.

I stood outside her door for a few minutes. "Let me in, Case. Please."

She didn't even respond...


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi readers! Thank you so much for reviewing, commenting, favoriting, and reading. :) It means a lot to me! Here's the next chapter, sorry it took me so long to get this to you guys, I'm such a space, I totally forgot that I had the next four chapter written xD expect some more updates later in the week. Thanks for reading and please leave a review to let me know what you think! Enjoy! **

* * *

Defeated, I walked back to my bedroom and found Edwin sitting on my bed.

His arms were crossed and his jaw was set. Something was about to go down...

I leaned against my door frame and dropped my backpack onto my floor. "What's up E-man?"

"Shut the door." He commanded.

I stepped inside, and kicked the door shut.

"Okay. Now what's up?" I asked, leaning back against the closed door.

Edwin stood and clenched his fists. "What's going on between you and Casey?"

Oh jeez. Anything but that. "Nothing." I tried to blow him off, but he stood his ground.

"I'm not kidding, Derek." His eyebrows were drawn down.

"Look Edwin, it's nothing. Just..." I trailed off thinking about how the situation had spiraled out of control so fast.

"Derek?" Edwin demanded. "Just what?"

"Nothing, Edwin. There's nothing going on between us, ok?" I responded.

I pushed past him and went over to my desk.

Plopping down in my chair, I clicked on my myspace profile.

"I can drag Nora and dad into this if I have to." Edwin threatened.

I hesitated. If I blew him off, he might actually go and get them...

But then again, maybe he was making empty threats.

I leaned back in my desk chair. "Go ahead, there's nothing to tell."

"Fine." Edwin jerked open my bedroom door.

I waited.

He gave me a look then shrugged. "Hey, dad?"

I jumped up. "All right. Come back here."

Edwin grinned as my father called back.

"Never mind." Edwin responded.

He spun around. "Ok. Talk."

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. "Close the door."

He shut the door and stared at me.

I sank uneasily back into the chair. "Casey and I..."

"Yeah?" He demanded.

He was getting seriously impatient. Swallowing, I forced the words out. "During our senior year, Casey and I h-had a fling."

If Edwin's mouth could've hit the floor, it probably would have.

"Dude! Casey's practically your sister!"

I cringed at his choice of words "Um no, she's not. What we had was more than a fling, actually. What we had was...different."

"You guys dated? This is…this is so gross, Derek." He shook his head, hardly believing my words.

Honestly, I wish it weren't true. I wish I had never fallen so hard for Casey. If I hadn't, the two of us might not be in the situation we are now.

It was a long few minutes of silence between Edwin and I.

He leaned back against the doorway and finally turned to speak to me.

"I've never been stunned into silence." He said.

I swallowed. "You can't tell anyone about this."

"Derek. This is the biggest thing to hit the McDonald-Venturi house, even bigger than the pregnancy scare with Jody in your junior year."

I winced, remembering the look on my dad's face.

Edwin crossed his arms.

"Are you telling me you're going talk?" I stood up and straightened my shirt.

He averted his gaze, then returned it after a moment. "I'm saying that it's going to take an awful lot to get me to *not* talk."

I held in a groan. "What do you want, Ed?"

He shoved off the door. "We'll discuss it later. I'm sure we can come up with something."

After he left, I collapsed back onto my bed and tried to drift off to sleep.

And forget that this day ever happened.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here's the next chapter. Thanks for sticking with this story. ;) Please review and let me know what you think. **

* * *

Dinner time came. I tried to stay up in my room but my dad kept calling up the stairs.

I turned on some music to drown out his voice, but he came up the stairs and demanded that I go to the dinner table.

I told him I wasn't hungry and he said that I was always hungry.

Grumbling, I forced myself to follow him down the stairs, and put on a happy face.

I ruffled Marti's hair as I passed by her chair, then stole a french fry off of Lizzie's plate.

She tried to smack my hand, but I'm faster.

I popped the fry into my mouth and licked my lips. "Oh, yeah. That's delicious."

Lizzie made a face and I smirked at her.

I took my seat and conversation resumed.

Casey was quiet.

My siblings were talking fairly loudly around me and I allowed my mind to drift.

Back to when Casey and I were together.

I looked at her and caught he staring at me.

She looked away and continued eating.

I looked around at the dinner table, remembering Edwin's reaction to Casey and I.

If that was my brother's reaction, I wonder what my parents reaction would be.

I looked across at Casey. I wonder if she'd be ok knowing that I told Edwin that we were together once…

Casey was still quiet.

During a particularly noisy part of dinner, I nudged her foot with mine, then stared at her till she looked up.

When she finally did, I made the 'ok' symbol with my fingers.

She rolled her eyes and studied her food again.

I nudged her foot. She didn't respond.

I waited a few seconds, then nudged it again.

She responded this time. By kicking my shin.

I bit down on my jaw to squelch the noise I was going to make.

My dad looked from me to Casey.

"What's going on?" He whispered.

I plastered a smile on face and whispered back. "Not much, dad. What's going on with you?"

He gave me a look, so I dropped my gaze back to my plate.

"I want to see both of you in my office after dinner." He replied, quietly.

Groaning, I looked back up toward him.

Casey's mouth was hanging open. "George-"

"I don't want to hear it, Casey." He snapped.

"Is everything okay?" Nora asked.

My dad nodded. "Yeah. Eat everyone."

Casey sighed and went back to eating.

This time, I didn't look at her. I figured I'd have enough time to do that when we were in my dad's office.

In my dad's office, I sat down in one of the chairs he had set up for the two of us.

Casey stood and read some of the various documents pinned up on his walls.

I called her name and she stiffened. "What do you want?"

"You have to talk to me sometime." I told her.

"No. See, that's where you're wrong." She turned around to face me and crossed her arms. "I don't have to talk to you at all. Right now, I'm choosing to tell you this to get you to leave me alone."

I sighed and dropped my head into my hands. "Fine. Don't talk to me. But right now, could you help me come up with an excuse?"

"An excuse? For what?" Casey asked, genuinely confused.

I looked at her. "For my dad. We have to come up with something he'll believe. And something that isn't-"

"The truth?" She snarled.

I winced. "Yeah. I guess."

She scoffed. "Derek Venturi, ashamed of his actions. For once."

I sighed. "Casey, I've been ashamed of my actions before. And for the record, I wasn't the only one in my bedroom that night."

Her hands balled into fists. "Don't talk about it."

"Why not?" I stood up and crossed over to her. "Afraid that you'll have to relive what *you* did wrong?"

She closed her eyes. "Derek, I'm going to give you one chance to get away from me. Or you'll regret it."

"When are you going to learn that I'm not here to hurt you?" I snapped.

She crossed her arms tighter.

I felt my shoulders slump as I whispered. "Casey, I love you."

Her eyes snapped open, hot tears spilling down her cheeks. "Don't lie to me, Derek. I'm not letting you do this to me again."

"Damn it, Casey! Why do you always think I'm lying to you when I show you emotions?"

"Because. You're the king of apathy. Why should I believe that you actually care?" She demanded, trying to wipe the tears away.

I closed the gap between us, my body pressing against hers. "Because it's you. And it's me. Should there be another reason?"

She closed her eyes. "Yes."

"Like what?" I trailed my fingers up her arm.

"Derek, I…"

"You what?" I whispered, leaning closer to her, my lips inches from hers.

Her eyes snapped open and she pushed me away.

"Oh my god, I can't believe you thought I'd be that easy." She said wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Casey-"

"No, I'm not letting you have me again, Derek. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." She said, crossing her arms again.

I heard movement outside the door and shoved myself away from Casey.

Just as I sat back down, my dad opened the door.

"Sorry to keep you kids so long. Got caught up talking to your mom."

He sat down behind his desk. "Casey, have a seat."

She sat down beside me, and I caught a whiff of her perfume or shampoo or something.

She still smelled like my Casey…

"All right. What's going on between you two?"

Casey shrugged at the same time I said, "Nothing."

He sighed. "I'm not falling for this. That little scene at the table, was not unnoticed."

I bit down on my lip.

My dad leaned back in his chair. "I could wait here all day."

Casey sighed. "I have things to do."

"Yeah, me too." I interjected.

My dad looked between the two of us. "As do I. But we're going to sit here all night until one of you two talks."

I sat back in my chair, Casey followed suit.

My dad picked up his newspaper from his desk and began reading.

A few minutes ticked by on the clock, and finally Casey broke the silence.

"George, seriously? Please just let us go. Nothing's going on." She said.

He closed the newspaper. "I don't care. Neither one of you are leaving until I hear some answers."

I sighed. "Come on, dad."

My father gave me a long, hard look. "Until one of you two talks, we are not leaving this spot."

I groaned and dropped my head into my hands.

"I'll tell you what happened." Casey said.

I looked up at her.

Determination was written all over her face. If my father heard what I did without hearing the backstory, I'd be dead. I'd be deader than dead...


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks so much you guys for reviewing/reading my story. :) Let me know what you think of this installment. :) **

"Casey-" I started, trying to beg her not to tell him anything.

She cut me off with a look. "Toward the end of our senior year, I started dating this guy."

I relaxed a little. This didn't sound like the truth.

"And Derek thought he might be using me, even though I knew he was a nice guy and would never do anything like that." She gave me a look that basically said, 'I thought that was you as well...'

I tried not to wince.

My father nodded. "So Derek was looking out for you. And?"

Casey seemed a little miffed that he didn't side with her right away. "Well, Derek broke us up by getting his ex to convince him to get back together."

My dad looked at me. "Derek, is that true?"

I let my head hang low. "Yeah, it is."

My dad nodded, running his tongue along his teeth. "Uh-huh..."

Nora opened the door. "George, honey, are we still going watch those movies we got today?"

My dad nodded. "Yeah. Go ahead and put them in and gather the kids. We'll be down in a minute."

Nora looked at the two of us then back to my dad. "All right. Make it quick, okay?"

He nodded and she left, closing the door softly behind her.

My dad steepled his fingers and sat forward. "All right, here's the deal. I don't believe either one of you with that story. So here's what I'm going to do. You guys are going to go downstairs and pretend to be nice and polite to each other for your mothers sake."

I immediately began protesting. "Dad, I really have-"

He silenced me with a look. "Then we'll talk in my office while your mother sleeps."

I groaned.

Casey shifted beside me. "George, I'm already tired from the plane ride. After the movie, I'll be exhausted. We'll talk in the morning."

My dad's eyebrow rose up. "I'm sorry, Casey, but just when did you become the boss?"

She gave an audible sigh. "Come on, George."

"No. You'll both go downstairs, behave during the movie, then return to my office immediately after. Do you understand?"

I was already standing up. "Yes, sir."

Anything to get out of that room right now, anything to get out from underneath his gaze.

If I had a little while longer I could think about an excuse.

"Casey, do you understand as well?" He asked.

She seemed pretty miffed as she stood. "Yes."

The three of us walked downstairs and into the living room.

"All right, which movie are we watching?" My dad asked, taking a piece of popcorn from the bowl.

"A Christmas movie." Edwin pretended to stick his finger down his throat.

"It's called, 'Borrowed Hearts' and I was told by a co-worker that it was really good."

I leaned against the wall. "Where's the case? I wanna read the back."

"It's a romance." Edwin continued to pretend to gag.

I smiled. "Ed, cut it out."

"No thanks, Der."

I actually laughed at the comment and messed up his perfectly gelled hair as I passed him by.

He made a noise. "Derek! Come on. I don't know why you messed it up."

I rolled my eyes and sat down in the floor.

Casey sat down in the chair across from me.

I could feel her eyes on me and the temptation to look was too much.

I let me eyes meet hers and she stared back at me for a few seconds.

She looked away from and toward the television set.

I gave a small sigh and looked down at the rug.

Almost unconsciously, I began tracing things into the rug using my fingernail.

Nora came into the living room and started putting the drinks on the coffee table.

"Do you want something to drink, Derek?" She asked.

I stood up. "Yeah, I'll get it though."

"You'll get it?" Casey questioned.

I looked at her. "Yeah…why?"

She shrugged. "Nothing. I just remember when you used to make us wait on you, I was wondering when that changed."

I swallowed. "It took me some time, but I realized that I…" I took a deep breath, and realized how much of a double meaning my words were about to carry.

"I realized that I was being selfish, and that I needed to step up and be a man." I said.

Her eyebrows went up onto her forehead. "You're serious?"

I nodded.

"Wow." She replied in a whisper.

"What?" I asked.

"You have changed." She whispered.

I looked at the ground, then back up to where Nora was standing.

But she wasn't there anymore. She'd already disappeared back into the kitchen.

My father came down the stairs and stared at Casey and I.

"What's going on?" He asked.

Edwin was nowhere to be seen either.

"Nothing." I replied and exited the living room and went into the kitchen to get some water.

I heard my father sit down and start talking in a low voice to Casey.

Maybe he thought if he talked to the two of us alone, he might get one of us to crack.

But the only one he'd have the chance of cracking would be Casey. I'm not going to tell him anything.

I turned the faucet on and let my cup fill up.

"You ok?" A voice asked.

I nearly dropped the cup. As it was, I splashed water all over the front of my shirt.

Casey was standing a few feet from me, fiddling with her class ring.

I nodded and set the cup down on the counter.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"Don't be, it was an accident." I replied.

I turned the faucet off and grabbed a few paper towels off the roll next to me.

"Here let me help you." She said and started for me.

She took the towel from me and started drying the counter.

I wiped at the front of my shirt.

"I'm going to have to change." I said. "I'll be right back."

I felt her eyes on me so I looked up.

She was clutching the towels so tightly in her hands I thought she was going to hurt herself.

"Hey, are you ok?" I asked, dropping my paper towels and putting my hands on either side of her shoulders.

She nodded and released her grip on the towels.

"Derek…" She trailed off.

"What?" I asked, gently rubbing her shoulders.

"I can't…I can't be here with you." She whispered. "It's too hard."

I felt my shoulders drop. "Casey-"

"I don't know if I can stay here." She replied.

I swallowed.

Casey looked down. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." I replied in a whisper, bringing her against my chest.

She pulled away. "I've got to go. You need to change your shirt."

With that, Casey exited the room and metaphorically, my life…


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry I've taken so long to update , Here's the next chapter, please let me know what you think! **

* * *

My heart was pounding and my palms were sweaty.

I couldn't let Casey McDonald walk out of my life a second time.

"Casey." I called out, hoping that she'd at least hear me out before dismissing whatever idea I had cooked up in order to bring her back to me.

But she didn't respond. She didn't call out to me and she didn't come back.

I walked out of the room, desperate to get her to come back to me.

But when I stepped into the living room, I saw that my family was gathered there.

No way could I attempt to make up to her with my family around to watch.

"Derek?" My father asked, looking up at me.

I cleared my throat. "Sorry. I, um, I spilled some water on myself. I'm just going to go change my shirt. I'll be right back."

I exited the room and walked up the stairs. I could feel eyes on me, and when I got to the landing, I looked back down into the living room.

Casey was looking up at me.

Our eyes met for a few brief seconds, then she looked away.

I waited another second or so before I also looked away and headed into my room.

After changing my shirt, I came back down the stairs and my family started the movie.

I tried to pay attention to the movie – maybe tried to use it as a way to distract myself- but I ended up thinking of Casey instead.

She was the only thing on my mind.

In truth, she'd been the only thing on my mind for the past year and a half.

After the movie was over, our parents went into their bedroom to talk, Edwin called his girlfriend and Marti went up the stairs to play with her toys.

I guess Lizzie could sense the tension between Casey and me because shortly after Marti left, she disappeared also.

I waited to see if Casey was going to leave the room also.

She stayed in her seat, replying to a text on her phone.

I thought for a minute that she was taking an awful long time to reply. But after a few minutes, I realized that she was avoiding me.

So I stood up, and was about the leave the room when she called my name.

I hesitated for a moment, then turned back around. "Yes?"

She took a few deep breaths. "Derek, can we talk?"

I crossed my arms. "About what?"

She exhaled heavily. "This is never going to work."

"What isn't?" I asked.

"This. Us. Living under the same roof." She said, self-consciously biting her lip like she used to do in high school.

I stared at her. Took in her lightened brown hair and pink cheeks.

I took a deep breath. "Casey, you know where I stand when it comes to us. The ball's in your court now. Whatever you want to do with it is up to you."

She swallowed. "I don't know what to do."

"Do you want to be with me?" I questioned.

She returned to biting her lip.

I waited for her response, but it seemed apparent that that was one question she was never going to be ready to answer.

I gave an audible sigh. "Fine. I've done everything I can to reconcile with you, Casey, but you're not willing to give me the time of day, are you?"

She looked up, tears in her eyes.

For a minute, I thought she was about to start crying, but then a look of pure anger and rage appeared on her face.

She stood up and stalked over to me, her face close to mine. "You know something, Derek? I waited for you. Ever since I came to live with you, I waited for you. Three years, I waited, Derek. Three whole years while you dated and slept your way through our high school class."

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words floated to my brain. She waited for me? She liked me all that time? Why had she never said anything before?

"And then our senior year, you finally paid attention to me. You realized that I meant more to you than just an annoying step-sister." She said, taking a deep breath. "But what did you do when we graduated high school? You threw me away like I was garbage. Like you didn't need me anymore."

"Casey, you told me not to go after you. You told me we were over." I said, my heart rate rising. "You're the one who called it off, not me."

"Damn it, Venturi!" She slammed her fists into my chest and I caught her wrists before she could do it again.

Hot tears were running down her face. "I wanted you to fight for me. I wanted you to prove to me that you really cared about me. I wanted you to show me that I meant more to you than anyone else in the world."

"You do!" I replied, exasperated.

"Then how come you didn't try to prove that to me?" She demanded, wrenching her wrists from my grip.

"I've tried!" I said. "I called you every week during your first year of college. Casey, I missed you so much."

"I got every single one of your messages." She replied, looking hurt, her arms crossed now.

"Why aren't you able to see that I'm here, and that I still love you?" I asked.

She closed her eyes.

I leaned closer to her, and closed the distance between us.

My lips met hers and she melted against me.

Her arms uncrossed and went around my neck. I slid my arms around her waist.

She pulled away and rested her forehead on mine.

Shaking her head, she said: "No…we can't… I can't do this, Derek."

"You can." I replied, breathing hard.

Casey pushed me away from her. "I love you, Derek. I'm always going to. But I can't do this anymore."

She turned away from me and walked up the stairs and into her bedroom.

I could only watch her leave again.


End file.
